Two important areas of technology in modern society are computers and television. Computer technology is the basis of one of the most widely used information resources in the world, the World-Wide Web (“the Web”). The Web is a collection of formatted hypertext pages located on numerous computers around the world that are logically connected by the Internet. The Web has become a resource for information relating to almost any subject imaginable. Although advances in personal computers and web browser software have made the Web accessible to a large segment of the population, many people are uncomfortable using personal computers. In contrast, television is a technology with which most people are very familiar and comfortable. Therefore, it is desirable to enable people to receive information from the Internet, particularly the Web, on their television sets.
In addition, television broadcasters and sponsors may wish to notify viewers of when interactive content is available that is associated with a program or commercial (advertisement) they are currently viewing. For example, a sponsor may have a Web site from which viewers can obtain additional information on a product shown in a commercial they are watching. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an entertaining yet relatively unobtrusive way of notifying users when a television material they are viewing has interactive (Web) content associated with it and a way for the viewer to easily and immediately access that information using their television sets. It is further desirable to provide such features so that the user experiences relatively seamless transitions between viewing conventional television content and interactive (Web) content.